Cold Water
by wstrnplsr105
Summary: "And if you feel you're sinking, I will jump right over into cold, cold water for you." / In which Henry has nightmares about losing the one who's always there for him.


**Heeeeey guys!**

 **I'm just gonna go ahead and put this out there: This is my first time writing M rated, so y'all don't throw nothing please. (Constructive criticism is welcome though!)**

 **So anyways, basically, the last several fics I've done have gotten more and more...I don't really know what word to use, but basically I've been trying to get closer and closer to M without actually being M. I wanted to gauge you guys' reaction because I have really thought about making my college fic M rated (Yes, I promise it's still in the works even though I keep saying that (Sorry!)) but I'm super nervous about it because there's not really much M rated stuff in this fandom, so I wasn't sure if that would be something you guy would want or not. But based on the reviews of my last fic (shoutout to trustme93 and rockyourlove, y'all had me DYING), I figured, why not? I happened to think of this little idea here, and the more I wrote, the more I figured, hey, why not make it M?**

 **So...yeah. This is my first attempt, and I really hope it's not terrible lol. Huge shoutout (again) to Lizlen for putting up with me constantly asking her opinion on this and for the little bit of humor at the ending (her idea, you guys make sure to go check out her fics cause she is AMAZING!). Anyways, I really hope you guys like this, and please let me know whether you do or not!**

 **Song List (Warning, there's quite a bit here):**

 **Cold Water by Major Lazer ft. Justin Bieber (title and lyrics)**

 **Moondust by Jaymes Young (Bronze Whale & Ianborg remix)**

 **Feels by Kiiara**

 **Shark by Oh Wonder (Illenium remix)**

 **Dangerous by Glades**

 **Speechless by Glades**

 **I Found by Amber Run**

 **Never Be Like You by Crywolf**

 **Cry Baby by The Neighborhood**

 **Gangsta by Kehlani (Flashback version) (Idk why this one gave me inspo, but it did)**

 **In My Veins by Andrew Belle**

 **We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off by Ella Eyre**

 **Bed Peace by Jhene Aiko ft. Childish Gambino**

* * *

 _"And if you feel you're sinking, I will jump right over_  
 _Into cold, cold water for you_  
 _And although time may take us into different places_  
 _I will still be patient with you_  
 _And I hope you know_

 _I won't let go."_

 _Henry Hart didn't think he'd ever run so fast before in his life._

 _His lungs were burning, his breath barely coming out in heavy pants, and his legs were shaking, threatening to give out on him._

 _The stairs leading up to the top floor of the Swellview Suites seemed to drag on as he rushed up them as fast as he could, his mind on one thing only._

 _Another thought briefly flittered around, reminding him that he was supposed to have hyper motility._

 _(So why was he having to run up the stairs at normal human speed?)_

 _The thought was quickly pushed back as he reached the door to the top floor, flinging it open and immediately looking to his right._

" _Well, look who's here."_

 _Henry swallowed the emotions crawling up his throat at the sight of the all-black clad figure leaning slightly out of the open window. The villain let out a chilling cackle, turning to face out the window for a moment with a sickening smile._

" _Looks like someone came to your rescue after all, Miss Bolton."_

 _Henry was thankful for what little bit that his own mask covered as he felt his face drop at the sound of his best friend's voice replying._

" _Yeah, and he's gonna kick your ass while he's at it."_

 _The villain let out another laugh, this one louder than the last, as he turned back to face Henry._

" _Maybe so, but he won't win in the end."_

 _Henry slowly stepped forward, taking every step carefully, as he sized up the criminal._

" _Leave her out of this."_

" _Such a cliché line." the man frowned, "I expected more from you."_

" _I'm serious." Henry continued, struggling to keep his voice level, "Don't hurt her. She has nothing to do with this."_

" _She was bait to bring you here." The man disagreed, his expression suddenly thoughtful, "And she certainly did her job, don't you think?"_

" _Yes, I'm here now." Henry reasoned carefully, slowly taking another step forward, "So she doesn't need to be a part of this anymore, she can go now."_

" _Go…" The man pondered the word for a moment before a smirk settled across his face that sent chills down Henry's spine, "I suppose I should let her go."_

 _Henry barely had time to jump forward, a shouted plea leaving his lips, as he heard Charlotte scream, the sound quickly fading._

" _NO!"_

Henry bolted up in bed, gasping for air as sweat ran down his chest, soaking his gray t-shirt. He looked around wildly, slowly letting out a shaky sigh at the familiar sight of his bedroom.

 _It was just a dream._

"A nightmare." He corrected himself in a murmur, shaking his head before looking at his clock, the green numbers reading 4:12 am.

"Just a nightmare." He repeated before collapsing back onto his pillow.

* * *

"Henry."

"Henry."

"HENRY!"

The 18 year old jumped in his seat, wide brown eyes looking up to see his red headed Spanish teacher waiting for his attention.

"I'm sorry, what?" He shook his head to try and push back the haze in his brain.

"Pay attention, Mr. Hart." She warned, "All of this will be on the test next Tuesday."

Ten minutes later, he was walking out of class with Jasper when his curly haired friend nudged his shoulder, catching his attention.

"You look tired, man. Did you and Ray have a late call last night or something?" He asked, stopping at Henry's locker as the blonde started putting his books up.

"Nah, I just woke up around four and couldn't really go back to sleep." Henry replied before closing his locker. Jasper nodded in understanding, then smiled at someone behind Henry's shoulder.

"Hey, Charlotte." He greeted, earning a smile from the girl in return.

"Hey, guys!"

"Hey, Char." Henry said as he spun around to face her, feeling his pulse quicken for a moment at the sight of her before he shrugged it off.

"Ready to go?" She asked, motioning towards the door that they always left out of to head to work. The three started walking down the sidewalk, Charlotte and Jasper in their own conversation as Henry walked along beside them.

The tall blonde instinctively glanced over to his left, seeing the faint outline of the top of Swellview Suites.

"Hey, Hen, you okay?"

He snapped out of his thoughts to see Charlotte holding open the door to Junk N Stuff for him. He nodded, giving her a small smile as he caught the door for her.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

* * *

 _Henry Hart had never felt so helpless in his entire life._

 _Many emotions swirled around inside his chest as he watched the unmasked robber hold a knife to Charlotte's throat._

 _Anger was the first. His body trembled with rage, his muscles tense with restraint as he forced himself to stand still and not charge straight for the criminal._

 _Confusion was another, though less prominent than anger. He had no idea how he and Ray were going to get Charlotte away from the robber and take him down without..._

 _(He doesn't dare finish the thought.)_

 _And buried under all of it was the worst: fear. Under his mask, he was absolutely terrified that he was about to lose his best friend. Charlotte was remaining calm on the outside, but Henry knew her well enough to notice the flittering glances between him and the criminal to know that she was secretly as frightened as he was._

 _Ray took a slow, small step forward, hands out in a calming gesture._

 _"Look, you need to let her go-"_

 _"Take one more step and I swear I'll-"_

 _Henry took a threatening step of his own, ready to tear this guy to pieces, when Ray waved him back._

 _"Kid, back off."_

" _Don't come any closer!" The criminal shouted, his knife shaking against Charlotte and Ray immediately stopped._

" _Let her go, now." Ray commanded, and Henry hoped the criminal didn't hear his voice waver ever so slightly._

 _Henry saw it coming, the man's eyes searching all around him, frantic, and didn't even have a chance to move before the knife was shoved into Charlotte's side, right under her ribcage, and the man dropped her now limp body to run._

" _Charlotte!"_

 _He was calling her name, over and over, his voice coming out in choked shouts, when he heard a new voice._

" _Henry."_

" _Henry."_

"Henry!"

The blonde felt a hand on his shoulder as he sat up quickly, his breathing erratic as he turned to see Piper standing next to his bed, her eyes wide as she stared at him.

"What?" He gasped out, trying to steady his racing heart and _why are his eyes wet?_

"Are you okay?" The younger Hart asked cautiously, searching her brother's face in concern.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He nodded, fanning the now damp material of his shirt against his chest.

"Henry," Piper's voice was unusually gentle, almost comforting, "You were calling for Charlotte and you're crying."

Henry didn't say anything for a moment, closing his eyes and letting his head drop against his bent knees.

"Let me know if you need anything."

He heard her pull the door until it was barely cracked open before walking back down the hall to her room.

* * *

 _A mixture where the different components can be easily recognized is a _._

Henry stared at the question for the third time, trying to urge his brain to conjure up the answer. He scribbled down a few words that might have made sense before running a hand through his hair, glancing up at the clock on the wall in front of him.

"Alright, everyone, you've got three minutes left before the bell rings, those of you still working should be finishing up." His chemistry teacher's voice rang through the silence in the classroom and Henry looked back down at his test before muttering a curse under his breath.

He had just circled the last multiple choice answer when the bell rang, causing most of the class to clear out quickly as he walked to the desk at the front of the room to hand the older man his test.

He grabbed his bag, slinging it over his shoulder as he looked up to see Charlotte standing in the doorway waiting for him.

"How do you think you did?" She asked as they walked towards their lockers, "That multiple choice section was harder than I thought it was going to be."

"Yeah, it was tough." He agreed with a forced smile as he began putting up his Chemistry book and grabbing his Statistics one.

Charlotte watched him for a moment before biting her bottom lip in concern.

"Are you okay?"

Henry looked over to see her leaning against the locker, brown eyes wide with worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Jasper said you zoned out in Spanish yesterday, and you didn't seem all that focused during the Chemistry test today." She stopped for a moment before adding, "He said you hadn't slept well?"

"It's nothing," Henry assured with a shrug, forcing his mind not to flash back to the image of a knife going into Charlotte's side, "I just haven't been getting a full eight hours lately, that's all."

"Why not?"

Henry shrugged again, ignoring the scenes from the past two nights flashing in his mind, "I just keep waking up, it's nothing. I'll be fine."

"If it keeps happening, try taking a melatonin." She recommended, her tone shifting to her 'Mother Hen' version that she always seemed to have around him and Jasper, causing a smile to break out across his face.

"Yes ma'am." He grinned at her, earning an eye roll in return as she began walking towards the lunchroom, him following behind.

* * *

 _Henry Hart can't see anything._

 _His hands are pressed against a cold, rough wall of an old abandoned warehouse (because where else would a villain be?) as he struggles to find his way down yet another hallway._

 _The air feels thick, almost like a fog that he can't see through, as he squints, trying to see anything at all._

 _And suddenly, a familiar scream rings out, hitting him right in the chest as he freezes._

 _He knows it's Charlotte as he pushes faster down the hall, blindly searching as he finds himself facing down another hallway._

" _Charlotte!"_

 _He practically chokes as her name leaves his throat, but he continues to call for her as another scream surrounds him. He's running now, stumbling over the uneven ground, desperate to find her._

" _Charlotte, where are you?!"_

 _The scream that follows is pained, a cry that nearly knocks the air out of him as he squeezes his eyes shut against the horrible thoughts filling his mind, and he forces himself to focus on finding her_ _ **now.**_

 _He sees a light up ahead, a dull yellowish color, and he pushes his feet to move towards it as fast as he can._

 _And just as a heartbreaking, tortured scream fills his senses, the light disappears and a deep, chilling chuckle echoes around him._

" _Charlotte?!" His voice is cracked, dry as he tries to find something,_ _ **anything**_ _, to help him find her._

 _The chuckle slowly fades into a breath, a moment of silence before a voice speaks._

" _You're too late, Henry Hart."_

Henry wakes up to his entire body in a cold sweat, his heart nearly erupting from his chest as his breath comes out in shaky pants. He takes in deep breaths, letting them out slowly and calmly as he closes his eyes before reopening them.

He stares at his phone on his nightstand for a moment before grabbing it, typing in his passcode before tapping the message icon.

' _Are you up?'_

He waits for nearly a minute before his phone vibrates.

' _I am now. Why?'_

He lets out a deep breath before tapping the call icon and pressing the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

She sounds tired, her voice a dry croak, but it's never sounded better to him.

"Hey."

He can practically feel her rolling her eyes through the phone, but he doesn't care.

 _(She's okay.)_

"So, did you need something, or…."

"Just wanted to see how you were doing."

( _Because he knows "I needed to hear your voice" would prompt questions that he doesn't want to answer yet.)_

"Henry, it's 3:18 in the morning."

"Is it? I didn't notice."

She scoffs, letting out a sigh afterwards.

"Are you o-"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you." He quickly interrupts, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Henry, w-"

He taps the 'end call' button and switches his phone to silent before setting it back on his nightstand.

* * *

"You ready, Kid?"

Henry looked up to see Ray standing next to Schwoz, the genius typing into his computer attached to some other machine.

"Wait, what are we doing again?" He asked, trying to keep his eyes open as he focused on the two older men.

"We're checking your reflexes." Ray explained, "Schwoz is going to shoot these test rockets at you, then measure how fast your reflexes are."

"Okay."

The brunette shot him a wary glance, "You ready?"

"Yeah." Henry shrugged, moving to stand in front of the wall by the elevator, facing Schwoz as the shorter man readied the rockets.

One by one, the rockets shot out, and Henry barely flinched as he dodged them easily.

The tubes suddenly dropped down and Charlotte dropped down, distracting the blonde as he turned to look at her, his breath catching in his throat.

And suddenly his left shoulder erupted into a nearly blinding pain.

He cried out as he crumbled around the injured shoulder, shutting his eyes tightly and gritting his teeth against the fire shooting through his entire left side.

"Kid!"

"Oh my God, are you okay?!"

"Henry?!"

He felt a hand on his other shoulder, gently urging him to turn to see Ray crouched down in front of him, Schwoz next to him, and Charlotte behind the two, her chocolate brown eyes widened in fear.

"That hurt so bad." Henry tried not to sound like a kicked puppy, but _God, did his shoulder hurt._

"You had it," Ray said as he helped the blonde stand, "What'd you do?"

"I don't know." He replied, "I guess I just got distracted."

He notices Charlotte watching him from the corner of his eye, but he pointedly focuses on _anything else._

"You need to ice your shoulder, it's gonna bruise pretty bad." Ray advises, his quick glance between Henry and Charlotte not going unnoticed by the blonde.

"I'll do it." Charlotte speaks up, not giving anyone a chance to protest before she's pulling him by his uninjured arm back to the room that Schwoz turned into their 'infirmary', of sorts.

She doesn't say anything as she pushes him towards the cushioned table, leaving him to sit down as she moves to the small freezer in the corner. She pulls out one of the ( _many_ ) ice packs, wrapping it in a thin towel from one of the cabinets and handing it to him.

"I could've iced my shoulder in there." He speaks after several seconds of silence, nodding towards the main part of the Man Cave.

"We need to talk." She crosses her arms over her chest and leans back against the counter opposite of the table.

"About what?"

"About how you haven't been sleeping, about how you called me at 3:18 this morning ' _to see how I was doing',_ and about how you just let a rocket slam into your shoulder when you have superhuman reflexes."

"Look, I said I'm fine, and I am." He slid off of the table, ignoring the pain still radiating through his shoulder.

"No, you're not." Charlotte argued, moving between him and the door, brows furrowed.

He shook his head, letting out a sigh, "Charlotte, I'm _fine_."

He went to move around her, not surprised when she caught his arm to stop him.

"No, you're _not_."

Henry started to protest again when her voice dropped to a soft murmur.

"Hen, talk to me."

He knew she wanted to help, wanted to fix whatever was wrong because she really does care. But he just _couldn't._

"Char…" He trailed off, looking down at her, eyes locked on hers and he was thankful for her ability to read him so well.

"Alright, whenever you're ready."

She releases her grip on his arm, surprising him when she pushes up onto her toes, pressing a kiss against his cheek before walking out of the room.

* * *

 _Henry Hart's world is crashing down around him._

 _He's running to the building in front of him, his ears still ringing with the after effects of the explosion that occurred just moments before. He hears muffled screams around him, one of them that sounds like Ray calling to him, but he doesn't stop as he runs into the crumbling structure._

 _Charlotte's in here._

 _He searches as he runs, dodging large blocks of cement, piles of rubble, and various other obstacles. He covers his mouth with his arm, coughing against the filthy air as he struggles to see through the mess._

" _Charlotte?!"_

 _He sees a few various figures (he pushes the word 'bodies' out of his mind with a lump in his throat) on the ground, forcing himself to look for curly black hair or her favorite black leather jacket that he got her for her 14_ _th_ _birthday._

 _(She always wears it.)_

 _He moves to the back of the building when he stops in his tracks._

 _Lying on the ground, is a curly haired girl in a black leather jacket._

 _He can't move, can't_ _ **breathe**_ _, as he feels himself crumple to the ground, letting her name leave his lips over and over in choked gasps._

He ends up with his head against his bent knees, taking deep breaths that don't seem to be helping this time. He half expects Piper to come bursting through his door for a moment before he remembers that she's out of town on a field trip, his mother tagging along as a chaperone, and his father is in Detroit on a business trip.

He quickly reaches over to grab his phone from its usual spot, dialing Charlotte's number and praying she picks up at 1:03 on a Saturday morning.

"Hello?" She sounds as if she just woke up, but Henry nearly loses it right then.

"Char?"

He hears her breath catch at the sound of his broken, defeated tone, and she doesn't hesitate.

"I'll be right there."

He supposes he should protest at the thought of her walking nearly ten minutes to his house in the middle of the night, but he just curls his arms around his knees and waits for her to arrive.

Before he knows it, she's opening his window and he waits until she climbs down the steps and is standing in front of him to look up at her.

She inhales sharply at the redness in his eyes, making her heart drop in her chest as she realizes he's been crying.

She moves to lay down next to him, their arms and shoulders pressed against each other, and waits for him. He eventually rolls onto his side to face her, and she does the same.

"I've been having nightmares."

She doesn't say anything, letting him take his time.

"It's been going on since Tuesday night. They're all different places, different villians, but…" He trails off, his voice catching at the end.

His hand is resting against the pillow, and she reaches for it, squeezing gently in encouragement.

"All of them are of you getting hurt, and…" He pauses for a moment, shutting his eyes tightly before suddenly everything is coming out at once, "and I can't do anything about it but just stand there and watch you get hurt and I thought they would go away but tonight-"

He stops again, drawing in a shaky breath.

"-tonight, you were just lying there and I _knew it_ and there wasn't _anything_ I could do. I wasn't even there for you when you…" Tears are leaking down onto his pillow, others trailing across his skin as Charlotte feels her own eyes water.

"Come here." She finally murmurs, pulling him to lay his head in the crook of her neck as she presses a kiss to the top of his head. He grips her hand, intertwining their fingers as she lets him dampen her navy tank top with his tears.

* * *

Henry suspects that Charlotte had something to do with the two of them having the weekend off rather than Ray's " _your shoulder is gonna be pretty sore, I can handle things for a few days_ ", but he doesn't fight it.

He and Charlotte are settled on the couch, watching some old sci-fi movie, and he looks over to see her watching him.

"What?" He inquires with a faint smile, shifting to face her as she does the same, their legs stretched across the middle of the couch together.

She shrugs nonchalantly, "Nothing, I was just wondering if it was cool if I stayed here tonight."

He knows it's her way of offering him company and someone to comfort him if need be, but he doesn't call her out on it.

"Yeah, sure."

"You want Chinese?"

"Sounds good."

They spend the rest of the evening watching the old Galaxy Wars movies on FX, and it's almost midnight when Henry notices Charlotte's eyes slowly drooping shut.

"Alright, don't fall asleep on me yet." He teases as he stands up and stretches, wincing at his sore shoulder. She looks up in concern, noticing the action.

"How's your shoulder?" He reaches out his uninjured hand, letting her grab on to him before he gently pulls her off the couch.

"Just sore." He replies as she walks towards the stairs. She nods in understanding as she starts heading up to his room.

"Don't forget to ice it again before you go to bed!" She calls as she reaches the top of the stairs.

" _Yes ma'am._ " He calls with a grin as he walks into the kitchen to grab an ice pack.

"Don't sass me!"

* * *

 _Henry Hart's heart is being ripped from his chest._

 _His chest is tight as he stares down at Charlotte cradled in his arms as she took short gasps of air._

" _Charlotte?" He murmurs, holding his breath as her terrified eyes focus on him._

 _He can feel blood soaking through his uniform, but he only pulls her closer to his chest._

 _She's coughing violently, struggling to breathe as he tries to prop her upright against his shoulder._

" _Char, you're gonna be fine." He assures quickly as she stares at the steady stream of dark red liquid pooling onto the ground._

" _Henry, I'm scared." She chokes at the end, tears welling up in her eyes as he fights back his own._

" _It's okay, Char, I'm right here." He murmurs as he unconsciously starts gently swaying back and forth, shutting his eyes tightly at the inevitable._

" _I love you."_

 _He barely hears it, but he does. He looks down to see her staring back up at him with a faint smile, her breathing slowed down to an unsteady rise of her chest._

" _I love you too." He whispers as he presses a kiss to her forehead, letting the first tear slide down his cheek as he feels her breathing become slower and slower until it finally stops._

 _He never stops repeating the three words as he continues to sway with Charlotte limply cradled in his arms, salty tears mixing in with the crimson life draining from her._

"Henry!"

He feels the blood soaking through his shirt as he stares into the dark, feeling hands grabbing him and a voice that sounds like Charlotte-

"Henry, hey, wake up!"

He's gasping for air, tugging at his shirt soaked with Charlotte's blood as he turns to see her staring back at him, worried and very much alive.

He stares at her for a moment before collapsing into her, letting her wrap her arms around him.

"Shhh, it's okay. I'm here, it's okay." She murmurs into his hair as she feels his body tremble in her arms.

"You-you were…" He doesn't say the word, and she doesn't need him to. She hugs him even tighter in response.

He focuses on the steady rhythm of her breathing, the warmth of her skin, how _alive_ she feels, and suddenly he can finally breathe again. He slowly pulls away enough to meet her gaze, her eyes still filled with concern, and he feels her thumb graze his cheek gently, wiping away a stray trail of tears.

"Are you okay?" She asks softly, eyebrows furrowing anxiously as he nods.

"Yeah, I am now." He replies, breaking eye contact after his heart seems to skip a beat.

"You need some water, or do you want to watch a movie, or something?" She offers, and he knows she's got to be exhausted.

"It's f-." He begins, stopping when she raises her brow, "Water would be great."

She nods in reply before sliding out of bed, opening the door and heading downstairs to the kitchen.

He watches her until she disappears, letting out a weary sigh as he glances down at his sweat soaked shirt, pushing back the memories of crimson instead of clear. He pulls the gray fabric over his head, tossing it into his hamper in the corner before closing his eyes for a minute.

He hears the tapping of Charlotte's feet against the floor as she makes her way to his room, the sound pausing unexpectedly. He opens his eyes, turning to see her standing a few feet away.

She doesn't say anything as she walks to the edge of the bed, handing him the glass of water. He takes it gratefully, murmuring thanks before gulping down most of the glass. He moves to put it down when he notices her still standing.

She's staring at him, more specifically his chest, and he's completely confused at her unreadable expression.

"Char-"

"You're worried about _me_ getting hurt?" The words slip out without a second thought, and it takes him a few seconds to understand.

Her eyes are observing the small scar on his left bicep, courtesy of Dr. Minyak two years ago, then travel up to the bullet wound right above it from a few months after that. They move to the deep bruise on his shoulder from Friday, the most recent one, before settling on the lengthy reminder of a too-close-call last November with a villain that made Drex seem like a saint. He can practically still feel the knife slicing through his collarbone, and he remembers the nightmares that came afterwards.

He doesn't know what to say, so he just moves to make room for her. She sits down next to him, quiet and seemingly deep in thought, and he waits for her to speak first.

She doesn't speak as she leans into him, and before he knows it, her lips are pressed against the scar on his bicep. His lungs fail him as she moves up a few inches, pressing another kiss to the bullet wound next. Her eyes meet his for a moment, and he thinks his heart is going to beat right out of his chest as she moves up to his collarbone, her lips lingering for a few beats of his heart before she pulls back.

He looks down at her, noticing her hesitation, as if waiting for his reaction. When she doesn't move, he leans down, pressing his lips to hers softly.

It's soft, gentle, and Henry doesn't think he has ever kissed anyone like this.

But this is Charlotte, and he doesn't ever want to kiss anyone else like this.

 _(Or, at all.)_

He pulls back enough to breathe, to gauge her reaction. He doesn't want to ruin what they have, and he doesn't want to risk scaring her off.

"Is this okay?"

He nearly laughs as she asks the question _he_ should be asking, and settles for a grin.

"I'm the one who kissed you." He reminds her, earning a slight eye roll accompanying a blush.

"I know, but you're still upset, and I don't want to take advantage of you-"

He interrupts her with another tender kiss, smiling as he pulled away again.

"Charlotte, I want this if you want this."

She smiles back as she nods, "Yes, I want this."

She presses her lips to his briefly before leaning back slightly.

"I want _you_."

He pulls her to him again, his hands cradling her face as she runs her fingers through his hair. One of his hands moves to rest against her waist, and after a moment, she feels him lightly pulling her to him. She lets him move her until she is straddling his hips, her knees resting on either side of him comfortably.

Her hands move down to his chest, fingers moving over the imperfect planes of skin delicately. She breaks the kiss to trail her lips down his neck tenderly, smiling against his collarbone when he lets out a low groan. She's scattering kisses on his upper chest when he cradles her cheek to bring her lips back to his, desperation exuding from the way he kissed her.

She felt his other hand slip under the hem of her tank top, his thumb drawing circles on her bare skin. She felt a rush of impatience, and broke the kiss suddenly to grip the bottom of the fabric, moving to pull it over her head and toss it on the floor. She saw him give a look of surprise before she sealed her mouth to his again, an underlying sense of need in how she pulled him to her.

His thumbs are still ghosting over her skin, slowly rising farther up, taking his time. When he reaches the edge of her black sports bra, he gently breaks the kiss to look at her in question. She nods a bit impatiently, already reaching behind her to unhook the material when his hands overlap hers, taking over the task. She feels him hesitate for a moment after the clasp is free, giving her a chance to change her mind. When she doesn't, he lets the material fall, tossing it to where her shirt is laying on the floor.

Charlotte's heart feels as if it could burst as she holds Henry's gaze, how he's looking at _her_ , not her body, and she can't help but capture his lips in a kiss again.

She feels his hands hover above her chest, and she nips at his bottom lip playfully, hoping he'll get the hint. He must have, as his hands are suddenly on her skin and she inhales sharply against his mouth.

His lips wander across her jaw, trailing a path of heat down her neck as a low moan escapes her. Her fingers tangle in his hair as he nips at her collarbone, his tongue tracing the mark lightly. His lips brush against her shoulder teasingly as he continues the path until she feels him grasp her hips. She barely notices he's moved until she feels the soft fabric of his sheets against her back and he's continuing his path down her torso.

She arches her back as the heat of his mouth lingers against her chest, ghosting across her stomach gingerly. She barely hears the breathy noises coming from her mouth over the pounding of her pulse in her ears, and she wonders if he can hear it too.

She feels his mouth move against her hip, swearing she hears the word " _beautiful_ " slip out, but she doesn't question it. She looks down to see his gaze on her, brown eyes burning into her own as he thumbs over the waistband of her shorts.

She lifts her hips in response, prompting him to ease her black shorts down her legs, letting them drop with the rest of her clothes on his floor. She hears his breathing hitch for a moment as his eyes roam over her, her stomach a jumble of nerves and anticipation.

"I don't think I've ever told you how beautiful you are." He murmurs before leaning down to kiss her softly. She feels her heart erupt wildly at his words, and she pours every ounce of love and passion she can into this kiss, knowing words aren't strong enough in this moment.

"Are you still okay with this?" He pauses after their lips part, holding her gaze as she bites down on her lower lip.

"Yes, Henry." A small smile tugs at the corner of her mouth, "I'm sure."

He can't hide his own smile as he presses his lips against hers once more. He feels her fingertips tracing nonsensical patterns against his ribs, knowing she's feeling the slight indent of yet another scar on his flawed surface. They work their way down to his hips, slowing once she reaches the waistband of his boxers.

He softly pulls away before covering her hands with his own, moving with her as she gradually slid the material over his hips. The fabric fell to the floor forgotten as Charlotte moved her hands to her own underwear, Henry's grip taking over as expected to help ease them down her legs.

There was a moment of silence as the last piece of clothing hit the hardwood, the two taking in the moment quietly. Henry leaned over, reaching towards his nightstand next to his bed, and Charlotte was relieved when he took out a small packet because for once, she wasn't planning ahead.

 _(Though there's no way she would ever admit that to him, or anyone else for that matter.)_

He looks for her permission one final time, waiting until she nods in confirmation before tearing open the packet.

Charlotte feels her heart hammering against her chest as he leans back over her, but she knows it's more in anticipation than unease. She accepts his kiss eagerly, her fingers roaming his shoulders as he grasps her hip gently, both of them trembling as he presses against her.

Their moans mix together as he pushes forward, and neither of them can believe that it's taken them eleven years to get to this moment. He feels Charlotte's nails leave indents into his uninjured shoulder, and a rush of emotion hits him as he realizes that, of course, she remembered his bruised shoulder when he wouldn't know if every bone in his body was broken in this moment.

"I love you." He murmurs into her neck, scattering heated kisses along the damp skin there. He feels her chest jump as her breath catches in her throat at his words.

"I love you too." Her tone is breathy, but the words are concrete.

Her hips begin to arch up to meet his, a whimper of his name filling the space as he slides his arms under her thighs, guiding her to wrap them around his hips. She draws in a shaky breath, mingling with his deep groan against her shoulder.

"Henry…" She trails off, the words she intended to say cut off by a moan, but he knows exactly what she means as he kisses along her jaw lightly before speaking.

"It's okay, Char," his breath is burning against her skin as his hands roam, "I'm right here."

The words echo into her neck seconds before his name leaves her lips in a gasp, hands gripping his shoulder and bicep as he suppresses his own moan against her skin.

Henry makes his way to lie on the bed, facing the ceiling, and Charlotte lets him draw her to his side, her head resting on his chest.

Her arm is draped over his chest, and his thumb is lightly brushing against her arm as she hears his voice vibrate in his chest.

"Char?"

She hums in reply, her eyes struggling to stay open.

"Thanks for always being there."

Her head suddenly jerks up to look at him, eyebrows furrowed.

"Did you just thank me after-"

"You know what I mean!" He interrupts, the moonlight peering through his window shedding light on his now pink cheeks.

Charlotte can't help but let out a laugh as she nudges his side playfully before turning serious.

"I always will be."


End file.
